Midway between Glasgow & Edinburgh on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, West Lothian has a surprising number of country parks, craggy hills & wildlife havens & is home to several prehistoric burial sites, ruined castles & palaces & stately homes as well as the remains of the Antonine Wall, the Roman Empire's northernmost frontier. Although the area is predominantly rural there were also extensive coal, iron & shale oil mining operations in the 18th & 19th centuries which left behind distinctive red spoil heaps, or bings, as they are known in Scotl&, & the Union Canal which linked Falkirk to the capital via some of the county's most impressive aqueducts.